The uFurnish Home Awards, in partnership with Metro, have announced the finalists for 2026, celebrating the most beautiful real homes across the UK. From dramatic before-and-after transformations to budget-friendly DIY creations, these homes prove that stunning design is achievable for everyone.
Real Homes, Real Inspiration
While some homeowners have interior design backgrounds, many are juggling renovations with full-time jobs and childcare, learning tricks of the trade on the job, often with help from YouTube. The awards aim to cut through social media noise by documenting realistic journeys over the past year.
The awards ceremony takes place on October 19 at the Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel, with categories ranging from Best Before and After Transformation to Best on a Budget.
Finalist Highlights
Best Before and After Transformation: Alana Miller took down four walls to design a unique U-shaped kitchen, using Farrow & Ball's Reduced Green paint and a feature wallpaper mural on the ceiling. She sourced the floor entirely for free from Facebook Marketplace, laying it by hand over six months of patient DIY work.
Best Bathroom: Emily Murray transformed a 'dirty flat roof' into a sunlight-drenched bathroom with a skylight, perfect for cloud watching while bathing. She jokes that it's 'rather more pink than my husband was expecting' and claims it for herself, saying her teenage boys 'can wee in the garden.'
Best DIY Creation: Bradley Dreha hand-built a dining nook, including the booth seating, using flat-back storage benches as a base. He says, 'I intentionally created the bench as an accessible DIY hack to inspire others. I'm committed to showing that impactful design can be both personal and achievable.'
Best Bedroom: Sandra Sundén used mixed paint from previous projects and added cane webbing to her wardrobe, teaching herself the technique. She also made the headboard from scratch to protect their heads from the cold, as the wall behind the bed is only single skin.
Best on a Budget: Teri Muncey renovated her room for just £39, using leftover paint, a laser level she already owned, a £12 plank of wood, £10 eBay brackets, and a £3 paintbrush. She says the faux panels 'can easily be changed with no messy removal, you just paint over the top.'
Best Use of Colour: Anouska Lancaster, an award-winning interior designer from Channel 4's Renovation Nation, painted her kitchen cabinets in fuchsia pink when she couldn't afford a new kitchen. She recommends starting with art you like to figure out your design direction, saying, 'Your home should be about what calls to you, and what you love.'
Full List of Finalists
The awards feature 17 categories, including Best Entertaining Space, Best Garden, Best Home Office, and Best Interior Content Creator. Notable finalists include Anouska Lancaster, who appears in multiple categories, and Alana Miller, also shortlisted for Best Kitchen.
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